Undecided questionsSome questions about this sentence.

Please can you check my translation of this sentence and answer the following question for me, please. Thank you.他没有看见成群的猫头鹰在光天化日之下从天上飞过，可街上的人群都看到了；他们目瞪口呆，指指点点，盯着猫头鹰一只接一只从头顶上掠过。He didn't see the group of owls flying about in broad daylight, but the people on the street saw the. They were dumbfounded, pointing up, staring at the owls sweeping past above their heads, one after the other.

I googled 一只接一只 and couldn't find any sentences using it. Is it not very common? I hope I guessed it's meaning correctly. Can you please give me some sentences using it please.

Thank you..

Additional Details:

I am also assuming I can change 只 to other measure words, 位， 条， 个 etc, correct?

Additional Details:

Sorry I should have been clearer, when I said changing measure words, I didn't mean in that sentence, I just meant in general when using this pattern.

Answers

Sort by:

Generally your translation is not wrong.But some parts could be better translated.1.instead of "the group",I would recommend"a whole group",or at least "a group".Because "成群"has the stress that it's not a single one but a group."The group"doesn't seem to have that kind of stress(in my humble opinion with my very limited knowledge on English).2,"Pointing up ",to me,sounds a little too mechanical.Since the term"指指点点"is a rather vivid term，and somehow alludes to the fact that people are talking about what they are pointing to rather than a mere mechanical gesture of pointing up their fingers.So instead I prefer "pointing and talking(or gossiping,though I am not sure if it sounds ok in English)".Then,your translation on"一只接一只"is perfect,it's exactly what it means in English.Last ,you'd better stick to"只"instead of any of the three other characters .Though"个"might be tolerable but still sounds a bit awkward."位"is a respectful used on people.Like in an restaurant,Waiter:"几位？"，Diner:“两位”.---"How many are you","We are two".or＂这位先生是美国人。＂...Anyway it's used on human beings unless you are making a metaphor,which probably is not the case in your text.You don't need to anthromorphise owls in this context,right?And "条"is for something long and thin,like snakes,sticks,noodles,strings.straps,etc.owls are not long and narrow,so you can't use 条.Did I make myself clear?

I think that “只” often used with animals , for example , 鸟一只接一只从空中飞过. 青蛙一只一只跳到水中about “位， 条， 个” ，of course，they can have the same use like "只"老师一位接一位念出他们的名字( or 老师一个接一个念出他们的名字)鱼一条接一条从水中游过苹果一个接一个从树上掉下来in Chinese , "只，位， 条， 个" are all quantifier, maybe it is very difficult for many people to learn it well.